Nerywood reviewed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My review of The Midnight Library
3 stars
Wonder what your life would be like if you had done one thing differently? Unfortunately that currently isn't possible, but through this book you can through Nora, her life, and her different lives.
"Now, you have to decide how you want to live."
"Because, Nora, sometimes the only way to learn is to live"
The book starts off with a number of quotes, then I found it went weird. It's hard to explain, and early on I wondered why the author chose to go this way.
Since there are multiple characters at many points in the book, it can be difficult to know who is saying what.
There are some chapters or parts that I felt could have been removed all together, and the book overall would be the same. Sometimes the book felt wordy, or felt like I was reading a page filler.
"The quiet made her realise how much noise there was elsewhere in the world."
At multiple points while reading, I wondered, how is the book going to continue with x number of pages left?
At the beginning of many lives, there are tons of talking to figure out what's going on in that life, and as the book progresses you are just told about certain things happen. I'm not sure if the author did this to shorten the number of pages, or because they knew you would only need to know about certain things.
"This was a new feeling – as if she was taking someone’s place"
The book does have a couple of frightening moments, which do help to ensure the book doesn't get too boring, however some may find it stops them from continuing to read.
"that you can choose choices but not outcomes"